The Bible tells us that if you do not forgive other people, you will not be forgiven.
Jesus Himself says >
"'And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, that your Father in heaven may also forgive you your trespasses.'" (Mark 11:25)
So, yes Jesus wants us to forgive
"anyone" for
"anything".
And we have what Jesus said, on the cross >
"Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do." (in Luke 23:34)
Jesus forgave those people, right while they were still so busy with hating and torturing and murdering Jesus who is God's own Son. And Jesus prayed that forgiveness to those people. He says to forgive while we pray, right? And on the cross Jesus prayed to our Father, to forgive them. And I note how a few verses later it says that criminal trusted in Jesus for salvation. So, I see how that prayer of forgiveness got that criminal saved.
So, yes we need to forgive, and others need us to forgive them in prayer for them. And while we are in prayer, possibly we will first need to trust God to correct us ourselves so now we are able to honor God through Jesus, by praying forgiveness to wrong people. And in prayer God can make us ready for love with any problem person . . . whether he or she is ready for us or not > we can be their best friend by being their good example of how to love, so they can find out how to love.
My mom was a believer in Jesus Christ. She really wanted to please Him. But my twin brother had hurt her. Before she died admitted that she was unable to forgive him for hurting her. All my life she taught me the Bible. She had an amazing testimony of how she became a Christian. But she died with some hurt and anger. Now, I am so scared that she will not enter the kingdom of heaven.
"She really wanted to please him." Well . . . of course . . . pleasing Jesus includes forgiving and caring prayer . . . including with hope for enemies > love
"hopes all things" > in 1 Corinthians 13:7.
God's all-loving love makes us alive with hope for any and all people, like how Jesus so suffered and died for us, with hope for any evil person, at all.
But in order to forgive like Jesus, we ourselves need to repent . . . don't we?
"But my twin brother had hurt her."
It is written >
"And who is he who will harm you if you become followers of what is good?" (1 Peter 3:13)
"Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus." (Philippians 4:6-7)
So, if someone obeys God . . . in His peace . . . this almighty peace easily and breezily and beautifully-wonderfully takes care of our minds and hearts, including our feelings and desires and emotions which are in our minds and hearts. And so Satanic people can not hurt us.
This is a basic of what we trust Jesus to do with us. Jesus Himself says >
"'Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.'" (Matthew 11:29)
If we invest in this, with Jesus, He makes us stronger and stronger in living in His peace with strength and His way of forgiving . . . so we become prepared to die well.
So, if you trust in Christ for salvation, trust Him to do this with you, as a basic. And never mind if anyone has told you this before or not; this is God's word which He guarantees to us who trust Him by obeying Him.
Jesus gave the testimony of the unmerciful master. She admitted that she was being a hypocrite. She couldn't understand why she wanted some of her kids to forgive her, but she can't forgive one of her other kids. She did not hide her sin. She died with unresolved issues with my twin brother. I am scared that this has sent her to hell.
Possibly your mom did not tell you the things I have just offered from God's word. Don't get confused about this. This is what God says; so no one has authority to override Him, by how they fail. God is the One easily able to have us doing all He means by His word.
So . . . about your mother > if she confessed how she was wrong, we do have 1 John 1:9 which says Jesus forgives us if we confess how we have sinned >
"If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all righteousness." (1 John 1:9)
But did she really change from being unforgiving? Did she pray with hope of love for your brother? In any case, you are not required to be wishful about anyone going to Heaven. We need mainly to invest in growing in Jesus, ourselves, so we are ready to die well and then share eternity with Jesus and His family.
And yes there are people who have kept on investing in their wrong stuff, so that how they have become when they die is what they will reap. We will reap so much more of however we become by the time we die > I say this, in consideration of Galatians 6:7-8.
Even if God might not expect us to forgive someone, I would say Jesus expects us to stay ready to forgive any person of any thing. We need to be how Jesus is capable of forgiving any person . . . so we are compatible with Jesus and pleasing to our Father like Jesus is . . . more and more growing in this . . . investing in this, sowing what helps us and others to become pleasing like Jesus is, plus all-loving.
We sow the ideas, the scriptures, the prayers, the actions and our example, so we may reap so much more in the resurrection.
She had so much love growing up. But she was far from perfect. She was so hurt by my brother, and she couldn't let it go.
"couldn't let it go" is not the same as being ready and able > we need to invest in prayer in which we trust God to make us ready for love with any person. I will offer that this is a basic of Christianity, how we submit to God to deeply correct our character so we are ready for love and forgiveness with any person, at all > because, among other things, Jesus Himself says >
"if you love those who love you, what reward have you?" (in Matthew 5:46)
So . . . also . . . Jesus has us get beyond loving only our own favorite people and ones we hope to use for what we want. Salvation is better than how this world has brought us up to love. Jesus came to save us from how this world has people loving selfishly and possessively.
And judgment is good for us, then, because God's good judgment gets this evil world's ways away from His children. First, now, this needs to happen within us; within us, God gets rid of all the nasty negative numbing naughty stuff. Then His judgment removes ones who did not get rid of this world's evil ways.
I know that praying for God to have mercy on her soul is worthless. But I can't help it. She considered herself as a child of God. But she failed in some areas. You read the Bible, and anyone can still fail as a believer.
You do not need to be wishful, about her. But learn from however she might have been wrong, and possibly from any ways she taught you what is good.
But best of all,
"learn from Me" (Matthew 11:28-30).
